This invention relates generally to feeder and header drive control systems for agricultural harvesting machines, and more particularly, to a system which allows operator inputs for varying a ratio or proportional relationship of the feeder and header drive speed to the ground speed of the machine, within an operator determinable ground speed range.
It is well known in the field of agriculture to utilize harvesting machines such as agricultural combines and the like, which are moved over the ground to pick a crop from a plant and separate the marketable portion of the crop from husks, cobs, stems, and leafy matter of the plants and other extraneous material such as weeds, grasses, vines and the like. In this regard, typically at the front of the machine, such agricultural harvesting machines include a header for gathering and picking the crops from the plants, and a feeder which transports the picked crops from the header to a separator, such as one or more rotary thrashing cylinders or the like.
Ordinarily, it is desired to control at least the header and the feeder so as to operate at a speed proportional to the speed of the machine as it moves over the ground such that the header and feeder are able to receive, process and transport the harvested crops encountered during the forward movement. Reference in this regard, Presley et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,430,846, issued Feb. 14, 1984, to Electro-Hydraulic Controls, Inc.; Ziegler et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,967,544, issued Nov. 6, 1990, to Deere and Company; and Paquet et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,488,817, issued Feb. 6, 1996, to Ford New Holland, Inc.
It is also known to control the header and feeder to maintain a minimum speed required for proper receiving and handling of crops when the ground speed of the machine falls below a predetermined level such that the crops are not pushed over by the header or become jammed therein. And, as disclosed in the above-referenced U.S. Pat. No. 4,967,544, it is known to provide an operator selectable ratio of the header and feeder speed to ground speed to accommodate various crop densities.
However, the known apparatus and methods provide for header and feeder speed control at one or more ratios to ground speed which ratios are fixed or constant over a given ground speed range such that the ratio of the header and feeder speed to ground speed at lower ground speeds within the range will be the same as for faster ground speeds within the range.
An observed limitation of apparatus and systems which function in the above-described manner include that for some field and crop conditions, it may be desirable or more efficient to operate the header and feeders at different ratios or proportional speeds to the ground speed throughout the ground speed range for better or more efficient gathering and feeding.
Accordingly, what is sought is a feeder and header drive system for an agricultural harvesting machine which provides greater flexibility and improved automatic speed control to a better matching or coordinating of feeder and header speed to ground speed throughout a range of ground speeds to provide improved and more efficient crop feeding to the separating apparatus of the harvesting machine.
A system for controlling the speed of a feeder and header drive of a harvesting machine at a varying ratio to ground speed as a function of an operator inputted signal and the ground speed, is disclosed. The system utilizes a sensor for sensing a speed representative of a ground speed of the harvesting machine and outputting a ground speed signal representative thereof; a sensor for sensing a representative speed of the feeder and header drive and outputting a feeder and header speed signal representative thereof; a feeder and header speed control device connected to the feeder and header drive, the feeder and header speed control device being operable for receiving a speed control signal and increasing or decreasing the speed of the feeder and header drive based on or as a function of the speed control signal; an operator input device for receiving an operator input and outputting an operator input signal representative thereof; and a controller for receiving the ground speed signal, the feeder speed signal, and the operator input signal, and outputting a speed control signal to the feeder and header speed control device which will vary a ratio of the speed of the feeder and header drive to the ground speed as a function of the operator input signal and any changes in the ground speed.